Do you feel led to pray?

[Dave Darling]

Hi everyone, a question- when you pray does God tell you what to pray for or do you just feel led to pray? I personally just feel led to pray, I know of others that hear God's voice and He tells them what to pray for, I also know of people that are like me, they just feel like they should pray and God leads them without their realizing it.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Hi everyone, a question- when you pray does God tell you what to pray for or do you just feel led to pray? I personally just feel led to pray, I know of others that hear God's voice and He tells them what to pray for, I also know of people that are like me, they just feel like they should pray and God leads them without their realizing it.

I pray for what's on my mind. I also use liturgical prayers. So, I get a variety of subjects for prayer every day.

 

[Unqualified]

I pray and sometimes it seems almost awesome, like the love and knowledge of God. But if I’ve been praying about it for awhile sometimes I have a hard time thinking of something. God is in all my prayers. But who’s to say it’s not accumulated emotional energy. If you don’t think so say on I’m listening.

 

[AlexB23]

Hi everyone, a question- when you pray does God tell you what to pray for or do you just feel led to pray? I personally just feel led to pray, I know of others that hear God's voice and He tells them what to pray for, I also know of people that are like me, they just feel like they should pray and God leads them without their realizing it.

I do feel led to pray. Seeing the state of the world in 2024, one has to pray. These are two of my life experiences about prayer, each from a devotional or two. Prayer is a form of self-sacrifice, and can even be a form of compassion for others.


Life anecdote about Prayer Pt. 1: Pray for Our Enemies
In 1947, Corrie Ten Boom encountered a former Nazi guard at a church in Munich, Germany during her talk about God’s forgiveness. The former guard from Ravensbrück (which his name is unspecified) approached Corrie afterwards, asking for her forgiveness. Initially having reluctance due to the atrocities committed by the Nazis to Corrie’s sister and the millions of Jews, Corrie decided to forgive the man, and suddenly she felt a great “healing warmth” flood over her. This act of forgiving one’s worst enemies made me tear up when I watched a documentary named Corrie Ten Boom: A Faith Undefeated (2013) in 2022. While most of us may never have the grace that Jesus or Corrie Ten Boom has, we can strive to pray for and forgive others just as Jesus prayed and showed mercy to His enemies, the Roman soldiers who crucified Him (Luke 23:34, Isaiah 53:12).

Lately, when hearing news about bad events in the world, I pray both for the victims, and for the repentance of the perpetrators. These prayers have helped me feel less bad about the world. In fact, it is the people that hurt the most inside or have been abused that may hurt others, so we must pray for our enemies equally so, cos our enemies may have been scarred by a major event during their younger years.

Life anecdote about Prayer Pt. 2: Self-Sacrifice, A Lesson on Love
Time is a resource that can be sacrificed, so prayer is a form of sacrificing our time to help others. In order to love God, we must put aside our entertainment to some extent and take some time each day to focus on His words in the Bible, pray, or listen to Christian music. Taking time to honor the Lord will prove our love for God, His Son, allow the Holy Spirit to transform us, and become sanctified.

 

[bling]

I feel the need to pray, but do not pray enough. I sometimes do not equate my feelings and situations with God leading me.

 

[Always in His Presence]

There are times I feel led to pray, sometimes pray in regards to something on my mind, sometimes pray in the Spirit and sometimes with the understanding. Sometimes I just use prayer for worship God. Sometimes I pray the Pauline prayers.

I love what Wigglesworth said on the subject - "I seldom spend more than an hour in prayer, but I never go for an hour without praying."

 

[BobRyan]

Hi everyone, a question- when you pray does God tell you what to pray for or do you just feel led to pray? I personally just feel led to pray, I know of others that hear God's voice and He tells them what to pray for, I also know of people that are like me, they just feel like they should pray and God leads them without their realizing it.

God often prompts me to pray -- but I also have scheduled times to do so.

 

[bèlla]

Both. There are things that cross my mind and other times when I'm directed to pray specifically about an issue. It may pertain to me or someone I know. But the latter is usually a person I'm close with or fond of. There was a time when my intercession was more outwardly focused. Countries, missionaries, etc. But He doesn't mention them anymore. It might have been a season and my focus was directed elsewhere.

I used to write my prayers down in the past. He still dictates them on occasion but I follow along verbally instead. We discuss things throughout the day or when He gets my attention if I'm engaged. He'll interrupt if needed and drop a nugget. An instruction for the day so to speak. Whereas an assignment, usually involves a lengthier discussion and I'm taking notes so I won't forget. There's typically a prayer directive included.

~bella